Release and Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Piero Scaruffi | |
200 Motels charted at #59 on the Billboard 200. The album was not released on compact disc until 1997, in correspondence with a theatrical reissue of the film. The CD edition contained extensive liner notes and artwork as well as a small poster for the film, and bonus tracks consisting of radio promos for the film and the single edit of the song "Magic Fingers".
The album was deemed to be a peripheral album in Zappa's catalog by music critics. Allmusic's Richie Unterberger critiqued what he referred to as the "growing tendency to deploy the smutty, cheap humor that would soon dominate much of Zappa's work", but said that "Those who like his late-'60s/early-'70s work will probably like this fine". Italian critic Piero Scaruffi described the album as "ambitious and monumental", and described it as a standout from other albums Zappa released during this period, which Scaruffi deemed to be juvenile and uncreative.
Read more about this topic: 200 Motels (soundtrack)
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